SUSTAINING LIFE

The Apollo command module (and to a lesser extent the lunar module) could be thought of as a mini-planet. All the basic requirements for human life over a two – week period were brought together inside a sealed conical machine less than four metres across and little over three metres high that could transport its occupants between worlds. Along with its ser­vice module, the spacecraft provided air, water, power and propulsion. It included a means of navigating across space and a way to negotiate Earth’s atmosphere upon return. It contained adequate supplies of food and warmth as well as the equipment that its crew would need for a programme of science during their journey. The life-support infrastructure of the Apollo spacecraft was under the watchful eye of the flight controller who sat at the EECOM console.

EECOM stood for electrical, environ­mental and communications, although evolving roles within mission control had removed the communications responsibility without changing the name.